I want to make free space on my computer, and Baobab tells me
/tmp is 8 Gio large.Can I delete all the files in /tmp safely? Do I have to close some programs first?
Additionally, why is this directory so big? Though my
/etc/defautl/rcS indicates TMPTIME=0 ?
Agmenor
AgmenorAgmenor
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1 Answer
In Unix, deleting a file removes a reference to it from its parent directory (this actually is called 'unlinking').
The actual file data is only deleted when it's not referenced from any directory (a file can have multiple so-called hardlinks) and it's not open by any program.
So yes, deleting files from /tmp should not crash programs which potentially keep those files open. On the other hand, the actual disk space won't be freed until the program closes the already-deleted file.
SergeySergey
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I’m cleaning up an Windows XP SP3 system, and an Explorer search returned 100’s of TMP files, including some in the System32 folder. Can I delete these with no system impact?
Generally, is it true that any TMP file can be deleted without system impact?
This document relates to deleting .tmp files, not how to clear your browser Internet history or cache.
Windows 98, XP, Vista, 7, 8, and 10
If you are running any of these versions of Windows, we suggest running the Windows Disk Cleanup utility to delete temporary files and cleanup other portions of your computer.
Viewing and deleting temporary files
To view and delete temp files, open the Start menu and type %temp% in the Search field (in Windows XP and prior, click the Run option in the Start menu and type %temp% in the Run field). Press Enter and a Temp folder should open. You can delete all files found in this folder, and if any files are in use, they can be skipped.
After restarting the computer, you should see at least some improvement in the performance of the computer, now that it does not have to load all those temp files.
Searching for .tmp files
If you are running Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows ME, Windows 2000, or Windows XP, follow the instructions below to search for and delete any .tmp file found on your computer.
Once the above steps have been completed, it is also recommended that you ensure the temporary folder on the hard drive is empty by following the steps below.
If you are running MS-DOS or Windows 3.x, follow the instructions below to remove any temporary files currently on the computer.
Which temp files are safe to delete?
Because all temporary files are only a location to hold information temporarily, all temporary files are safe to delete. However, keep in mind that if a file or program is using that file, you may not be able to delete the file.
Unable to delete .tmp file
If you get an error when trying to delete a .tmp file, it is currently being used by Windows or another software program that is running. Close all open programs, restart the computer, and try deleting the file again. If you are still having problems, see the document below.
Additional information
RECOMMENDED: Click here to fix Windows errors and improve PC performance
Deleting the temporary files is one of the best ways out there to free up some significant amount of free space on your Windows operating system.
Is It Okay To Delete Temp Files
Long time Windows users likely know how to manually delete temporary files without the help of third-party PC cleaning utilities like CCleaner.
There is an easy and safe method to delete temporary files in Windows 10. You can use the Settings app to safely clear all temporary files in Windows 10 without installing additional software. Here is how to use the Settings app to safely delete temporary files in Windows 10.
Deleting temporary files in Windows 10
Step 1: Open Settings app by clicking its icon in the left-pane of the Start menu.
Step 2: At the home page of Settings app, click on System icon.
Step 3: Click Storage. Under Storage section, click on the drive where Windows 10 is installed. For convenience, on the Settings page, Windows 10 displays Windows logo on the drive where Windows 10 is installed.
Is It Safe To Delete Tmp Files From Mac
Step 4: Once you click on the system drive (where Windows 10 is installed), you will see the Storage usage page. The page displays the disk space used by system and reserved files, apps & games, documents, pictures, music, videos, mail, desktop, other users, maps, OneDrive, and temporary files.
Step 5: As you can see in the picture below, just below the Temporary files entry, Windows 10 displays the space used by temporary files. On my PC, temporary files are using a whopping on 11.5 GB. Note that Windows 10 takes in to account of space used by Downloads folder, Recycle Bin, previous version of Windows (Windows.old folder), and temporary files folder while calculating the size of temporary files.
Click on Temporary files.
Step 6: Next, at the Temporary files page, select the check box next to Temporary files and then Remove files button to delete all temporary files from your Windows 10 PC. If you see the confirmation dialog, click Yes or OK button to begin deleting files.
Is It Safe To Delete Tmp Files In Windows 10The traditional way of manually cleaning temporary files
Step 1: Open the Run command box by simultaneously pressing Windows logo and R keys.
Step 2: Type %temp% and then press Enter key to open the Temp folder containing temporary files.
Step 3: Select all files and folders and then click the Delete key to delete all temporary files. It’s a good idea to move temporary files to the Recycle Bin and permanently delete them after a few days so that if a program or Windows doesn’t work properly after deleting temporary files, you can restore them.
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